(Los Angeles) At least five people died in the fierce fires that raged around Los Angeles on Wednesday and are now ravaging the Hollywood Hills, carried by violent winds.
Around 1,500 buildings were destroyed and more than 100,000 residents of the American megacity were forced to flee in the face of the flames.
This toll could rise further, according to the authorities.
Los Angeles is being swept by “hurricane-force winds combined with extreme drought conditions,” summarized Mayor Karen Bass during a press briefing Wednesday evening.
The gusts, which sometimes blew up to 160 km/h on Wednesday, sometimes carry embers for kilometers.
A first fire broke out Tuesday morning in the hills of the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood, which is home to celebrities and many multi-million dollar villas.
PHOTO ZOE MEYERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The vehicles and homes destroyed by the flames bear witness to the power of the fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
Since then, outbreaks have multiplied and often explode very quickly, within a few minutes.
After the San Fernando Valley and Altadena, a new fire broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, a few hundred meters from the famous Boulevard of the Stars.
The artery quickly filled with stressed motorists, stuck in traffic and trying to evacuate under the sound of horns, AFP journalists noted.
“We don’t have enough firefighters in Los Angeles County to deal with this situation,” said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.
PHOTO ETHAN SWOPE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The fire broke out late Tuesday morning in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
Altadena, located north of Los Angeles, looks like a recently bombed area, with buildings still burning and homes reduced to ashes.
William Gonzales returned to see his home, evacuated the day before.
He confided to AFP “having lost almost everything”: “the flames have engulfed our dreams. There’s nothing left but ashes here.”
Jesus Hernandez assures that his house, like the many others devoured by the blaze, “is no longer worth anything”.
“To see them go (in flames) in a few seconds is really sad,” he breathes.
Empty fire hydrants
Towering plumes of black smoke rise above the second largest city in the United States, with the acrid smell of burning in the air. The winds pose a “mortal danger,” according to the weather service.
Residents were urged by officials to conserve water as three reservoirs supplying fire hydrants were emptied by battling blazes in Pacific Palisades.
“Fighting these fires with urban water systems is a real challenge,” said the head of the municipal water and electricity service (LADWP), Janisse Quinones.
In addition to the winds, meteorologist Daniel Swain points in particular to “the lack of rain and the abnormal heat and drought for six months” to explain these disasters.
PHOTO JOSH EDELSON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Warm Santa Ana winds, typical of California’s winter, are expected to blow up to 100 mph in the region Tuesday and Wednesday, potentially making the fires worse.
President Joe Biden, traveling to California, visited them on Wednesday in a barracks in Santa Monica. The day before, he had released federal aid to facilitate the fight against the flames.
On his Truth Social platform, his successor Donald Trump attacked California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, one of his pet peeves.
He named him as “responsible” for this “real catastrophe” by claiming – falsely – that the lack of water the state was suffering from was due to his environmental policies, repeating his fanciful remarks according to which rainwater was diverted to protect a “useless fish”.
Ceremony postponed
The fires caused the cancellation of many film premieres and closures of sites, such as that of the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park.
The Oscar nominations, which are due to take place on January 17, have been pushed back to the 19th. The Critics Choice Awards ceremony which was to be held on Sunday has also been postponed, and the nominations for the SAG Awards (SAG), the awards of the union of American actors, were announced by simple press release.
Several Hollywood celebrities are among the tens of thousands of people ordered to evacuate.
Known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the saga Star WarsMark Hamill announced on Instagram that he had to leave his house in Malibu, a city popular with stars, on Tuesday.
Scientists regularly point out that climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events. Warnings that now resonate in the flesh of Angelenos.
“It’s probably climate change that’s affecting everything. I’m sure it added to all that,” sighs Debbie Collins, in front of her store threatened by flames in Altadena. “The world is really bad and we need to do more. »
Two tankers from Quebec and their crews are already in California
Two tanker planes from Quebec and their crews are already in California to help fight the gigantic forest fires ravaging the Los Angeles region.
Stéphane Caron, of the Society for the Protection of Forests against Fire (SOPFEU), clarified on Wednesday that these two CL-415 planes are sent to the United States every fall as part of an annual contract. But due to the urgency of the situation, the duration of this loan was extended this year.
Mr. Caron indicated that each air tanker is dispatched from Quebec with its own crew made up of a pilot, a co-pilot and a technician.
The Canadian Press
